Analysis of new Pet Abilities

[rubybeam]

*sighs* i'm sorry it's just they will be bring in buffs and debuffs but thier also remodeling thier abilitys completely I really really liked the abilitys on some of the old pets, like the silithids net for example and now crocolisks have a whole new ability that I just don't like honestly

[Protego]

I'm looking forward to seeing the 2nd special that Exotics are gonna get. I hope they change the Devilsaur's special. It needs to be more like the other Exotic pets' abilities. http://cata.wowhead.com/spell=54680 Devilsaur's Exotic special ability. I love the Spirit Beasts' special. Going to be able to heal is gonna be epic. Core Hounds ability is very sweet. Also too to the Shale spider and Silithid while-the-pet-is-out buff. To me, Exotic pets buffs are better. I'm looking forward to the updated special that "Cats" are gonna get. Can't are not "done" with stupid "Prowl" as their "special". Raptors and serpents shouldn't have the same special. That's sad that they took away the Exotic worms ability to give to a serpent. Warp Stalkers' new special is cool. And these changes don't "surprise" me at all. I skimmed over most of the whiners' posts. For the most part, I don't see these changes as "reductions".

[Shinryu Masaki]

I wonder what exotic ability the worms will get.

[JayCanuck]

I wonder what exotic ability the worms will get.

+1 and Rhinos.

Anyone on beta servers able to check Spirit Beasts. MMO-Champion's spell library shows Spirit Beast with both Spirit Strike and Spirit Mend? Is Spirit Strike really gone?

[Gimlion]

I swear some of you act as though there is only DPS, Heals, And Tanking. Those are all great, but you can't do anything without Buffs, Debuffs, CC(well, maybe in WotLK you could), etc. There has got to be, and I believe there is, MORE than just THREE play styles. It's a lot like FF13 when I think about it. They have all of those roles. That game works out great. I think that we are moving more towards this type of raid composition than just finding a few tanks/heals then overloading on Pure DPS that have little raid function other than damage.

Also, some of you guys are saying "Oh I'll miss the old abilities like 'Bad Attitude' and the Wasp 'Sting' " Are you even listening to yourselves!?! We JUST got most of these abilities on the launch of WRATH. We've had them for a relatively short time, and obviously Blizzard didn't like the way it worked out, so they're changing it. And this isn't like it's on a whim either, they said a long time ago this was their plan.

[Aylfric]

+1 and Rhinos.

Anyone on beta servers able to check Spirit Beasts. MMO-Champion's spell library shows Spirit Beast with both Spirit Strike and Spirit Mend? Is Spirit Strike really gone?

They might leave it in but change it to do a debuff - I think Lava Breath now does the casting slow, but no damage? But they are removing all damage-dealing special abilities for pets, so there won't be any pet which does more damage than the others, and "forces" raiders to take that pet to raids.

I didn't realize all the exotic pets will have two abilities. That's pretty cool. Hopefully that will make worms cool again for those unhappy with the changes as they've been announced so far.

As far as the armor debuff is concerned, I think it's a good thing that we can get it with a cunning and a ferocity pet. I think they're reducing it from a max of 20% to a max of 12%, but it's a very important debuff currently, but if you're a BM hunter and raiding, switching to a worm, since it's tenacity, is a hefty loss of damage. Having it from raptors is good and will make at least one hunter in my guild really happy! I might have to go retame my old Rippy.

I really can't wait to see what raids will be like in Cataclysm, petwise. Even though I only run 10-player raids, sometimes we have 3 hunters. It would be really cool to see, say, a corehound, a raptor, and a nether ray in play, instead of only devilsaurs and wolves.

[Ranshiin]

I woke up and saw this on MMOChamp and was a bit stunned hehe, didn't even notice this post as I'm still tired...

I'm slightly sad about the lost of Warp for warp stalkers, that made a warp stalker extremely useful as a tank. All in all though this change is exciting, I'm hoping to see more interesting changes ahead. It'd be nice to see each pet get a unique attack ability and a unique utility ability.

[Anansi]

I swear some of you act as though there is only DPS, Heals, And Tanking. Those are all great, but you can't do anything without Buffs, Debuffs, CC(well, maybe in WotLK you could), etc. There has got to be, and I believe there is, MORE than just THREE play styles. It's a lot like FF13 when I think about it. They have all of those roles. That game works out great. I think that we are moving more towards this type of raid composition than just finding a few tanks/heals then overloading on Pure DPS that have little raid function other than damage.

Also, some of you guys are saying "Oh I'll miss the old abilities like 'Bad Attitude' and the Wasp 'Sting' " Are you even listening to yourselves!?! We JUST got most of these abilities on the launch of WRATH. We've had them for a relatively short time, and obviously Blizzard didn't like the way it worked out, so they're changing it. And this isn't like it's on a whim either, they said a long time ago this was their plan.

I have no idea about FF13, but I agree with you completely on everything else. I guess I find it a bit odd that we finally see a good change for Hunters and people bemoan it as a downgrade. This change is one of the best things to happen for the Hunter class in a very long time, but I guess people don't feel the need to have their raid spots justified or be a desired class in a group.

[Suzi]

Maybe it's because I remember pets when they didn't have family abilities or talent trees, and only a few had anything special at all, but I really like these changes. I'll miss some of the old pet spells (farewell Warp!), but look forward to seeing the new stuff in action.

[Gelannerai]

Look, this shouldn't surprise anyone with the switch in focus to 10 man raiding in Cata. This insures that a Hunter is always a viable class to bring (and really, the "What pets do you have?" questions shouldn't really be a problem for most, what with 25 pets to choose from). Being forced to bring a specific group of pets? FAR better than being forced to bring ONE specific pet AND SPEC (I love my wolf to death, he was my first pet ever, but still). Yeah, maybe I'm a little biased, but I'm ecstatic to see BM Hunters getting a definite niche in raid utility again. Loss of damage output on pets? Seeing as how there are paradigm shifts happening for everybody, let's wait and see how the total package works out. I'm thinking it'll be for the better.

[Valashe]

http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/

Hunter (Forums / 3.3.5 Talent Calculator / Cataclysm Talent Calculator / Beta Skills/Talents)
Utility Abilities
(Pets with a - E are exotic pets tameable only by Beast Mastery Hunters)

Bloodlust / Heroism

* Ancient Hysteria (Core Hound - E) - Increases melee, ranged, and spell casting speed by 30% for all party and raid members. Lasts 40 sec.
Allies receiving this effect will become Sated and be unable to benefit from Bloodlust or Time Warp again for 10 min. / Instant, 6 min cooldown


Healing

* Spirit Mend (Spirit Beast - E) - The Spirit Beast heals the currently friendly target for {1237.75+((RAP*0.35)*0.5)} plus an additional {475.97+((RAP*0.35)*0.335)} over 10 sec. / 25 yd range, Instant, 40 sec cooldown


Stamina Buff

* Qiraji Fortitude (Silithid - E) - Increases party and raid members' Stamina by 584.76. / Instant


Critical Strike Buff

* Furious Howl (Wolf / Dog) - The wolf lets out a furious howl, increasing the critical strike chance of all party and raid members by 5%. / Instant, 45 sec cooldown
* Terrifying Roar (Devilsaur - E) - The devilsaur lets out a terrifying roar, increasing the critical strike chance of all party and raid members by 5%. / Instant, 45 sec cooldown


Casting Speed Reduction

* Lava Breath (Core Hound - E) - Your pet breathes a double gout of molten lava at the target, reducing the target's casting speed by 25% for 10 sec. / 30 yd range, Instant, 8 sec cooldown (No longer deals damage)
* Spore Cloud (Sporebat) - Dusts nearby enemies with spores, reducing all enemy targets within 6 yards casting speed by 25% for 9 sec. / 6 yd range, Instant, 12 sec cooldown


Attack Speed Reduction

* Dust Cloud (Tallstrider) - Your tallstrider kicks up an obscuring cloud of dust, causing all enemies within 10 yards to have their melee and ranged attack speed reduced by 20% for 8 sec. / 5 yd range, Instant, 40 sec cooldown


Movement Speed Reduction

* Ankle Crack (Crocolisk) - Snap at the target's feet, reducing movement speed by 50% for 6 sec. / 5 yd range, Instant, 10 sec cooldown (Replaces Bad Attitude)
* Frost Breath (Chimaera - E) - Your pet simultaneously breathes frost and lightning at an enemy target, slowing the target for 5 sec. / 30 yd range, Instant, 10 sec cooldown (No longer deals damage)
* Time Warp (Warp Stalker) - Slows time around the enemy, reducing their movement speed by 50% for 6 sec. / 25 yd range, Instant, 15 sec cooldown


Healing Debuff

* Monstrous Bite (Devilsaur - E) - Your devilsaur ferociously bites the enemy, reducing the effectiveness of any healing received by 25% for 8 sec. / 5 yd range, Instant, 8 sec cooldown


Root

* Venom Web Spray (Silithid - E) - Sprays toxic webs at the target, preventing movement for 5 sec. / 30 yd range, Instant, 40 sec cooldown (Up from 4 sec, no longer deals damage)
* Web (Spider) - Encases the target in sticky webs, preventing movement for 5 sec. / 30 yd range, Instant, 40 sec cooldown


Silence / Interrupt

* Serenity Dust (Moth) - The moth's wings produce a cloud of dust that interrupts the enemies spellcasting and preventing any spell in that school from being cast for 2 sec. / 25 yd range, Instant, 1 min cooldown


Armor Reduction (Sunder Armor)

* Tear Armor (Raptor) - Tears at the enemies armor with the raptor's talons, reducing it by 4%. Stacks up to 5 times. Lasts 30 sec. / 5 yd range, Instant, 6 sec cooldown
* Corrosive Spit (Serpent) - Spits poison at an enemy, corroding their armor, reducing it by 4%. Stacks up to 5 times. Lasts 30 sec. / 30 yd range, Instant, 6 sec cooldown


Increased Bleed Damage

* Gore (Boar) - Your boar gores the enemy, causing it to take 30% additional damage from bleed effects for 15 sec. / 5 yd range, Instant, 10 sec cooldown
* Tendon Rip (Hyena) - Tears at an enemy's legs, increasing damage taken from bleed effects by 30% for 15 sec. / 5 yd range, Instant, 10 sec cooldown


Increased Magic Damage

* Fire Breath (Dragonhawk) - Breathes Fire on the target, increasing magic damage taken by 8% for 45 sec. / 40 yd range, Channeled, 30 sec cooldown
* Lightning Breath (Wind Serpent) - Breathes lightning, increasing magic damage taken by 8% for 45 sec. / 40 yd range, Channeled, 30 sec cooldown


Increased Physical Damage

* Acid Spit (Worm - E) - Your worm spits acid, causing the enemy target to take an increased 4% physical damage for 25 sec. / 20 Focus, 30 yd range, Instant, 10 sec cooldown
* Ravage (Ravager) - Violently attacks an enemy, causing the enemy target to take 4% increased physical damage for 25 sec. / 5 yd range, Instant, 15 sec cooldown


Stun

* Sonic Blast - Emits a piercing shriek, stunning the target for 2 sec. / 20 yd range, Instant, 1 min cooldown (No longer deals damage)
* Sting (Wasp) - Your wasp stings the target, stunning them for 2 sec. / 5 yd range, Instant, 45 sec cooldown


Physical Damage Reduction

* Demoralizing Roar (Bear) - The bear roars, reducing the physical damage caused by all enemies within yards by 10% for 15 sec. / 5 yd range, Instant, 10 sec cooldown


Disarm

* Clench (Scorpid) - The scorpid clenches the enemy's weapon with its talons, and disarming their main hand and ranged weapons for 10 sec. / 5 yd range, Instant, 1 min cooldown


DPS Abilities

* Bite - Bite the enemy, causing {187.74+((RAP*0.35)*0.40)} damage. / 25 Focus, 5 yd range, Instant, 3 sec cooldown
* Claw - Claw the enemy, causing {187.74+((RAP*0.35)*0.40)} damage. / 25 Focus, 5 yd range, Instant, 3 sec cooldown
* Smack - Smack the enemy, causing {187.74+((RAP*0.35)*0.40)} damage. / 25 Focus, 5 yd range, Instant, 3 sec cooldown

[Teigan]

We JUST got most of these abilities on the launch of WRATH. We've had them for a relatively short time

Yeah, I've only been playing a short time. These are the only abilities I've ever known!

[Feath3r]

I swear some of you act as though there is only DPS, Heals, And Tanking. Those are all great, but you can't do anything without Buffs, Debuffs, CC(well, maybe in WotLK you could), etc. There has got to be, and I believe there is, MORE than just THREE play styles. It's a lot like FF13 when I think about it. They have all of those roles. That game works out great. I think that we are moving more towards this type of raid composition than just finding a few tanks/heals then overloading on Pure DPS that have little raid function other than damage.

Also, some of you guys are saying "Oh I'll miss the old abilities like 'Bad Attitude' and the Wasp 'Sting' " Are you even listening to yourselves!?! We JUST got most of these abilities on the launch of WRATH. We've had them for a relatively short time, and obviously Blizzard didn't like the way it worked out, so they're changing it. And this isn't like it's on a whim either, they said a long time ago this was their plan.

If you don't do enough damage, you will be replaced. No buff is going to make them over look your 3K damage if everyone else is doing 8K. You are a DPS class, no matter what sparkly toys Blizz gives us.

EDIT

That second list posted mentions the crab unchanged (though considering cats right now...) and I was wondering if you guys think they'll change it or not?

[bluddy]

hmmm but i like sparkly toys

[Feath3r]

hmmm but i like sparkly toys

Oh yeah, some of the sparkly toys are very nice (mmm bloodlust and a chance to use my Corehound in raids if there isn't a best pet ) but they won't replace the main purpose of our class, no matter how pretty they are.

[Gelannerai]

I would think if you're doing 3K in 25's you have more problems than pet choice.

Out of curiosity, since they're actively doing their "pet pass" now, is there any concern over tameable skins/models disappearing on the sly? I might be paranoid, but I do have a little concern over skins like Kurken, Ghostsaber, etc.

[Nymrohd]

I swear some of you act as though there is only DPS, Heals, And Tanking. Those are all great, but you can't do anything without Buffs, Debuffs, CC(well, maybe in WotLK you could), etc. There has got to be, and I believe there is, MORE than just THREE play styles. It's a lot like FF13 when I think about it. They have all of those roles. That game works out great. I think that we are moving more towards this type of raid composition than just finding a few tanks/heals then overloading on Pure DPS that have little raid function other than damage.

Also, some of you guys are saying "Oh I'll miss the old abilities like 'Bad Attitude' and the Wasp 'Sting' " Are you even listening to yourselves!?! We JUST got most of these abilities on the launch of WRATH. We've had them for a relatively short time, and obviously Blizzard didn't like the way it worked out, so they're changing it. And this isn't like it's on a whim either, they said a long time ago this was their plan.

If you don't do enough damage, you will be replaced. No buff is going to make them over look your 3K damage if everyone else is doing 8K. You are a DPS class, no matter what sparkly toys Blizz gives us.

EDIT

That second list posted mentions the crab unchanged (though considering cats right now...) and I was wondering if you guys think they'll change it or not?

And how do these changes affect in any way the dps of the hunter class? Dps abilities were removed from pets beyond the basic skills so that pets will be balanced without them. Hunter dps will be balanced around a hunter using a ferocity pet in a raid. Pets scale significantly better in Cata than they did ever before, and BM has a solid way to get more dps out of them through master. It is just sad when people continue to panic about things that do not even exist.

[Gelannerai]

And how do these changes affect in any way the dps of the hunter class? Dps abilities were removed from pets beyond the basic skills so that pets will be balanced without them. Hunter dps will be balanced around a hunter using a ferocity pet in a raid. Pets scale significantly better in Cata than they did ever before, and BM has a solid way to get more dps out of them through master. It is just sad when people continue to panic about things that do not even exist.

^This right here.

[Palladiamorsdeus]

Alright, flat out, the people insulting the people who don't like the changes need to stop, and I mean right now. Even disapproving, knock it off. Not everyone is going to like what Blizzard does. Doesn't make them wrong, doesn't make you right.

I have stated, several times, that this change is functional on beta, but I personally do not enjoy it, and for a couple of reasons. As a BM, my job is already to crank out as much damage as possible while keeping my pet out of stupid situations. It is NOT and never HAS BEEN to buff the group or raid. I HAVE classes that I play that can will or do buff the group, and I have several healers that I can play if I want to focus solely on the group/raid. Having to go "Okay, I should hit bloodlust...NOW!" on top of saying "NO fluffy, get out of the damn fire!" just itn' sitting pretty with me. That doesn't make it any less functional, just less fun to me as a player.

My next complaint comes from the fact that on beta I have both a warlock and a death knight. I get to experience first hand the changes those two classes went through in regards to their minions. Anyone remember the old Stampede? Succubus has a targeted version. Bladestorm? Felguard has it. Demonology's buff is always active and always useful for casters. Felguards also recieved a much improved version of cleave that also works well on single targets. Death knights recieved a nice new way to buff their ghouls that fits in naturally to what they'd have been doing anyway, and a massive buff in transformation.

I also have to say that they do NOT have an excuse. Yes, we have a lot more pet families they have to work with. But they already had to go through to design THESE buffs in the first place. So why not give them at least a similar function to the other two pets? Why make them buff bots? Why not add in a useful buff to the hunter THEMSELVES instead of forcing us into a jack of all buffs role?

I do absolutely LOVE the synergy of the new Wild Hunt, which pretty much no one has talked about. It forces you to try to keep your pet's focus above 50 as much as possible through useage of Focus Fire ((Five stacks of Focus Fire restores 50 focus)) to keep your pets basic attack buffed by 120% as much as possible)) but I dislike that all of my damage just comes from bite/claw/smack. It just makes their damage system that much easier, which I suppose they have to do in the light of some families having buffs that you have to watch carefully.

[Feath3r]

Alright, flat out, the people insulting the people who don't like the changes need to stop, and I mean right now. Even disapproving, knock it off. Not everyone is going to like what Blizzard does. Doesn't make them wrong, doesn't make you right.

I have stated, several times, that this change is functional on beta, but I personally do not enjoy it, and for a couple of reasons. As a BM, my job is already to crank out as much damage as possible while keeping my pet out of stupid situations. It is NOT and never HAS BEEN to buff the group or raid. I HAVE classes that I play that can will or do buff the group, and I have several healers that I can play if I want to focus solely on the group/raid. Having to go "Okay, I should hit bloodlust...NOW!" on top of saying "NO fluffy, get out of the damn fire!" just itn' sitting pretty with me. That doesn't make it any less functional, just less fun to me as a player.

My next complaint comes from the fact that on beta I have both a warlock and a death knight. I get to experience first hand the changes those two classes went through in regards to their minions. Anyone remember the old Stampede? Succubus has a targeted version. Bladestorm? Felguard has it. Demonology's buff is always active and always useful for casters. Felguards also recieved a much improved version of cleave that also works well on single targets. Death knights recieved a nice new way to buff their ghouls that fits in naturally to what they'd have been doing anyway, and a massive buff in transformation.

I also have to say that they do NOT have an excuse. Yes, we have a lot more pet families they have to work with. But they already had to go through to design THESE buffs in the first place. So why not give them at least a similar function to the other two pets? Why make them buff bots? Why not add in a useful buff to the hunter THEMSELVES instead of forcing us into a jack of all buffs role?

I do absolutely LOVE the synergy of the new Wild Hunt, which pretty much no one has talked about. It forces you to try to keep your pet's focus above 50 as much as possible through useage of Focus Fire ((Five stacks of Focus Fire restores 50 focus)) to keep your pets basic attack buffed by 120% as much as possible)) but I dislike that all of my damage just comes from bite/claw/smack. It just makes their damage system that much easier, which I suppose they have to do in the light of some families having buffs that you have to watch carefully.

Thank you. I was having a hard time trying to reply when I had to keep dropping snippy comments from my post because people were happy to sit back and hurl insults so I felt stupid no matter the response I came up with.

I'm not worried about our DPS as a class, I'm worried about our DPS compared to OTHER classes. Warlock/Death Knight minions sounded like they get some serious damaging potential while our pets had damaging abilities taken away so we could buff the party/raid instead. THAT was my concern, I'm sorry if I didn't make it sound that way.